The Cooperative Principles
Vision Credit Union • Oct 13, 2020
What is a cooperative, anyway?
Pictured: Jackie Walkey, Senior Member Service Representative, Camrose West End Branch
Cooperatives are excited about what they do and they want to spread the word.”
In honour of National Co-op Week, we’re shining a light on some interesting facts about cooperatives and how they work.
Did you know that credit unions are financial cooperatives? That means that credit unions align with the cooperative values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity.
But cooperatives wouldn't exist without their members. Members of cooperatives share the values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.
Here are the cooperative principles that put these values into practice.
| Cooperative principle: | What it means: |
|---|---|
| Voluntary and open membership | Anyone can voluntarily become a member of a cooperative without discrimination of gender, social status, race, or political and religious views. |
| Democratic member control | Members are in full control of their cooperatives; decision-making and policy-setting follow a democratic system. Elected representatives are accountable to their members. |
| Member economic participation | Members contribute fairly to their cooperative’s capital. That capital is democratically controlled by the membership and is often, at least partially, common property of the co-operative. |
| Autonomy and independence | Cooperatives are autonomous and self-governing. This ensures that the members are in control and that the co-operative stays independent of outside influence. |
| Education, training and information | Cooperatives are excited about what they do and they want to spread the word! Externally, cooperatives create awareness about what being a cooperative means and how they’re beneficial. Internally, cooperatives strive to provide relevant education, training and information to members. |
| Cooperation among cooperatives | The cooperative movement is global. Cooperatives don’t compete with each other; they’re stronger together. |
| Concern for community | Community and cooperatives go hand-in-hand. As autonomous and independent organizations, cooperative members create their own policies to support their local communities in the ways they believe can be most impactful. |
Citations:
"Values & Principles." Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada, 2020.
